Standard Grievance Policy

DBSoM values honesty and integrity. Academic and creative dishonesty in any form are morally, ethically and legally unacceptable at DBSoM and will not be justified or tolerated. DBSoM recognizes that creative and innovative practice requires an understanding of the world and the works of others. Management discussion requires exploring ideas, practices and products in existence and through collaboration with others. An open exchange of ideas and the opportunity to read, research, reference, and build upon the works of others play a key role in creative practice. At the same time, faculty, visiting faculty and scholars must clearly acknowledge

Using and relying upon the ideas and works of others, and

Other’s contribution in all their endeavors.

DBSoM faculty and students share responsibility in upholding these values. While DBSoM expects its faculty to set the standards for ethical conduct and practice, it recognizes the need for students to understand and accept their own responsibility in maintaining honesty and integrity in their work within classrooms, studios, workshops and other spaces of learning and practice. In order to promote the above by its students DBSoM has adopted a policy on Ethical Conduct and Practice that is committed to ensuring that: All academic and creative work submitted by students for assessment and for public/private purposes is expected to be the result of their individual efforts, self–expression, skills and knowledge.This policy identifies what constitutes academic and creative dishonesty through cheating, plagiarism and syndication. It outlines

What constitutes honest and ethical practice

Actions that contravene the principles of ethical practice

Student responsibilities to ensure their own ethical practice

As per this policy all acts of cheating, plagiarism and syndication are considered a violation of ethical academic and creative practice.

What constitutes academic and creative dishonesty?

At DBSoM, academic dishonesty includes all acts undertaken to obtain academic, creative, and professional advantage (including in assessment, course credit, publication and dissemination of work) by dishonest or unfair means or by knowingly assisting another student to do so. It includes cheating, plagiarism, syndication, and non-attribution.

What is Cheating?

Cheating is the actual or attempted practice of fraudulent or deceptive acts for the purpose of improving one's grade, obtaining course credit, and receiving creative/professional credit for work that is not one’s own/ entirely one’s own. Such acts also include assisting another student to do so. Cheating can take various forms, all of which are prohibited by DBSoM. This includes:

Engaging to complete or contribute to a project/assessment in place of another student, whether for payment or otherwise.

Fabrication of information/data when completing a course/project.

Recycling: or resubmission of work that has been created for an earlier course/purpose, or which is substantially the same, for another course/purpose.

It is expected that all work submitted by a student for a course or for any other academic purpose will be been done solely for that course/purpose. A student who recycles course work from one class to another is liable to face an allegation of academic dishonesty unless he/she has obtained permission from the faculty member in charge of the previous course/purpose for which the work was first produced.

Fraudulent practices during examinations and tests, which can take the form of:

The use of any unauthorized material. When taking an examination or a test, only those materials that are to be used can be carried. Any unauthorized material that is brought will be in breach of DBSoM regulations and will be regarded as an act that is preparatory to cheating.

Attempting to read other another student’s work during an examination

Writing an examination, quiz or test paper, or consulting with another person about the examination or test, outside the confines of the examination room without permission;

Copying from another student during an examination.

Using electronic devices inappropriately to access information during an examination.

What constitutes Plagiarism?

Plagiarism is a specific form of cheating which consists of the misuse of the published and/or unpublished works of others by misrepresenting the material (i.e., their intellectual property) used as one's own work.

Plagiarism includes:

Submitting work that purports to be one’s own‚ but has borrowed ideas‚ words, or any other aspect of information from another source without an acknowledgment of this fact. This shall include but not be limited to quoting verbatim from another person’s work, cutting and pasting from the internet, paraphrasing another person’s work by changing the order of words used etc.

Reproducing someone else’s work‚ whether it be a published article‚ chapter of a book‚ a paper from a colleague, image, form/design

Hiring, employing or allowing another person to alter or revise work that is submitted as claiming to be the result of one’s own effort.

Copying images/visual/sonic work, or parts of images/visual/sonic work without permission or proper acknowledgment.

Copying, parts of or the entire whole of a copyrighted images/visual/sonic work that may not be copyrighted.

Plagiarism might also arise from colluding with another person, including another student, other than as permitted for joint project work (i.e. where collaboration is concealed or has been forbidden). A student should include a general acknowledgement where he or she has received substantial help, for example with the language and style of a piece of written work, creative expression and design elements Plagiarism can occur in respect to all types of sources and media and not be limited to:

Material downloaded from websites or drawn from manuscripts or other media.

Published and unpublished material, including lecture handouts and other student's work.

Students must ensure that any work submitted for assessment is genuinely their own and is not plagiarized. It must not be borrowed or copied without specific acknowledgement, or stolen from other published or unpublished work.

What constitutes Syndication?

DBSoM recognizes the value and benefits of collaboration between peers in addition to the need and value for students to obtain expert assistance from time to time. Students must acknowledge the role and contribution of others at all such times.A student must ensure that work submitted has been prepared by the student alone, unless specifically instructed that a piece of work for assessment is to be produced jointly with other students, Colluding with other students to prepare a piece of work jointly, or to copy each other’s work, and pass it off as an individual effort, is syndication and this is against DBSoM regulations.Copying another student’s work without his or her knowledge is also against the rules. A student should include a general acknowledgement where he or she has received substantial help, for example with the language and style of a piece of written work; manufacture/crafting of a product; visual language and content of presentations, and the artistic style of a creative work.

Guidelines for Ethical Conduct and Practice

As per DBSoM policy on Ethical Conduct and Practice (especially as this pertains to cheating, plagiarism, syndication and non-attribution) students are required to adhere to the following:

Any work, written or creative, undertaken in collaboration with others must be acknowledged

The contribution of the student in collaborative work must be clearly acknowledged in background, concept, process, and production of final output

Collaboration would include those with other students or peers, with industry or with artisans

Where a student’s work builds directly on the work of another, then the background must be attributed as appropriate

Before submitting their work, students are advised to consult the course instructor if they have any doubts or questions about what constitute plagiarism, and in particular the level and kind of acknowledgement they may require and is expected of them in written examinations, projects etc.

Students may discuss assignments among themselves or with their course instructors, facilitators or tutors. However, in producing the actual work, it must be executed by the student alone (unless it is a collaborative assignment).

When students’ assignments involve research using outside sources or information‚ students must acknowledge exactly what‚ where and how they have employed these sources.

If the words of someone else are used‚ quotation marks around the passage in question must be used. If quoting actual words from a published or unpublished source, including from work of one’s own, students must acknowledge that fact each time by using quotation marks and citing this source in their coursework. There are correct academic conventions for how this is to be done and these conventions must be followed.

It is not enough to list sources in a bibliography at the end of an essay, thesis or dissertation if the actual quotes in the text are not acknowledged. It is also unacceptable to change some words or the sentences order if, and give the impression that it is one’s own work and not acknowledge the source.

Students are advised to acknowledge all assistance received on a project/assignment (including peers/ faculty/ experts/ crafts persons/ technicians) and to make clear what their contribution has been.

Penalties for violation of DBSoM Policy of Ethical Conduct and Practice

All DBSoM students are expected to be familiar with its policy on ethical conduct and practice and to uphold this. Engaging in any form of dishonest practice will affect a student's academic standing at DBSoM. It may also involve disciplinary action, which could jeopardize the student's enrolment. DBSoM reserves the right to suspend or expel any student who is found to be:

Copying or plagiarizes written work, artwork or other assignments and projects of other students or professionals.

Colluding with other students to prepare a piece of work jointly, or copying each other’s work, and passing it off as an individual effort.

Using unauthorized materials in any examination or test

Breaches of regulations will be dealt with under student disciplinary procedures. If an allegation of plagiarism, syndication or cheating is proved, any of the following penalties will be imposed:

Deduction of marks or rejection of an assignment

Failure in a module or unit

Suspension or expulsion

If a student has any further queries, such clarification should be sought from her or his facilitator/teacher; Course Leader; and/or learning support personnel in DBSoM.

DBSOM is one of the leading Management B-Schools in India, governed and managed by the pioneers in the field of management education.